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Saturday, November 12, 2011

1966 Topps #168 Dan Osinski

Osinski, who played for six teams during eight seasons in the majors, was a hard-throwing relief pitcher whom the Braves acquired from the Angles prior to the 1965 season. During his only season in the Braves organization, Osinski pitched in a career high 61 games while recording a career high in saves (6) and posting an ERA of 2.82 (second lowest of career). As noted on the back of the card, "Dan was traded to the Red Soxs December 15, 1965." Yes, they actually printed Soxs. As an added value, Topps also threw in a different font on the date. Nice touch.

Perhaps Topps should have included this as the write-up on the back of his card: "[Dan]...forever etched his name in Angels lore one night when he picked up sportswriter Bud Tucker and dangled him by his heels out of the window of a 15th floor hotel suite. Tucker, who was famous for his one-liners, later said his only fear was that somebody would hand Osinski a drink and the pitcher would drop him reaching for it." (from Tales from the Angels Dugout by Steve Bisheff)